Improvement in breech-loading fire-arivis



W. F, PARKER.

Breech-Loading Fire-Arm. 'N0 161,261 I Patented March23,1875...

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WILBUB F. PARKER, OF MERIDEN, CONNECTICUT.

IMPROVEMENT IN BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 161,267, dated March 23, 1875; application filed February 5, 1875.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it it known that I, VVILBUR F. PARKER, of Meriden, in the county of New Haven and State of Connecticut, have invented a new Breech-Loading Fire-Arm; and I do hereby declare the following, when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings and the letters of reference marked thereon, to be afull, clear, and exact description of the same, and which said drawings constitute part of this specification, and represent, in

Figure 1, longitudinal central section in the position of closed breech Fig. 2, the same in the position of breech open.

This invention relates to an improvement in thatclass of breech-loadingfire-arms known as barrel tilting up at the breech, and particularl y to the arm originally patented to W. H. Miller, November 13, 1866, No.59,723. In the Miller construction the barrels are locked down by a longitudinal bolt in the frame entering a recess in the end of the barrels when completely closed, and this bolt Withdrawn by a vertical bar from below, the barrels extending up through the frame upon the upper surface, so that if the barrels be properly locked the upper end of said bar will come down flush with the surface of the frame; but, in case the barrels be not thus locked, the said bar will protrude through the frame on the upper surface, and thereby indicate that the barrels are not locked. In the practical use of this Miller construction there two serious objections: First, if any foreign substance, or any cause, prevent the barrels from coming completely down to place, but yet so as to allow the nose of the bolt to pass into the recess in the end of the barrel, so great friction between the nose of the bolt and the recess in the barrels is created that it is very difficult to force the bolt back to release the barrels. Second, when, by any cause, the bolt is prevented from completely '1 entering the recess in the end of the barrel, the bar cannot fall down flush-with the frame, but protrudes above, and, as this protruding end is in line with the sight, it unavoidably interferes with the proper aiming of the arm.

To overcome these objections is the object of this invention and it consists in making the nose of the bolt inclined upon the under side, so that its nose willenter the recess in the barrels before the barrels are brought completely down, as more fully hereinafter described.

A is the frame; B, the barrels, hung to the frame at C, so as to tilt in the usual manner; D, the recoil part of the frame; E, the bolt, arranged longitudinally in the frame, so as to be moved freely in its longitudinal line only. F is the vertical bar, moved upward by pressing upon its finger end G, and forced downward, when free, by a spring, H, set in the frame so as to bear down upon the bar," as shown. The upper portion of this bar passes through aslot in the bolt E, substantially as in the said Miller patent, and that part of the bar is inclined forward, so that in pressing up the bar-as from the position in Fig. 1 to that in Fig. 2-the incline on the back of the bar will draw back the bolt; and when the bar returns the corresponding incline on the front of the bar will throw the bolt out, the outward force of the bolt depending upon the spring which operates the bar F. In the rear of the barrels a recess, a, is formed in such relative position to the bolt E that when the barrels are closed, as in Fig. 1, the nose of the bolt will enter said recess.

When the bolt is drawn back to free the barrels it is caught in the withdrawn position by a vertical spring-latch, 61, as seen in Fig. 2. The lower end of this latch turns out forward of the plane of the breech-frame, as at e. In closing the barrels, a projection, f, on the barrels strikes the projecting portion 0 ofthe latch, and forces the latch down to free the bolt before the barrels are completely down,asin Fig. 1.

If the under side of the nose of the bolt, and the bottom of the recess in the barrel, be straight, the first-named difficulty occurs. To avoid this,the nose of the bolt is formed with an incline upon the under side, as shown, and the bottom of the recess in the barrels correspondingly inclined, or either inclined, and the other straight. Then if the barrels be completely closed, the nose of the bolt will fully enter the recess in the barrels; but, if an obstacle prevents the complete closing of the barrels, but allows them to come nearly down, the nose of the bolt will enter until it makes a firm bearin g upon the lower edge of the recessthatis to say, the closing of the barrels may vary to nearly the extent of the incline of the bolt, and yet be caught by the bolt sufficiently to hold the barrels for firingthe extent of this variation being sufficient to make the imperfect closing of the barrels apparent at the joint.

The recess in the barrels should be made so deep, as seen in Fig. 1, that when the barrels are perfectly closed the bolt iil not reach the forward end of the recess. Hence, as the bolt or recess is worn by use, the bolt will pass proportionately farther into the recess. For this purpose the inclined portion of the bar is made longer than at first actually required, so that the full extent of the incline is not used in throwing the bolt, but will serve to throw the bolt farther as it is Worn by use.

The projection in the previous construction requiring the end of the bar to protrude through the upper surface of the frame, is by this construction avoided.

I have illustrated and described this invention as applied to double-barrel arms, but it will be understood that it is intended to embrace both single and double barrel arms.

I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent- The combination of the boltE in the frame, notch 60 in the barrels, the bearing-surface of one or both inclined, and the vertical bar F, substan tiallyas and for the purpose described.

WILBUR F. PARKER. Witnesses:

GEORGE O. lVIERRIAM, RALPH A. PALMER. 

